Table 1.
Demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics of households participating in the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey 2012–2013 (N = 3961).
| Characteristic | All Households | Northeast | Midwest | South | West | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean ± SE | Mean ± SE | Mean ± SE | Mean ± SE | Mean ± SE | ||
| N | 3961 | 671 | 960 | 1427 | 903 | |
| Household size | 2.49 ± 0.05 | 2.5 ± 0.1 | 2.4 ± 0.1 | 2.4 ± 0.1 | 2.8 ± 0.2 | 0.1162 |
| Children (0–18 years) in HH | 0.64 ± 0.03 | 0.6 ± 0.1 | 0.6 ± 0.0 | 0.6 ± 0.1 | 0.7 ± 0.1 | 0.6713 |
| Race of primary respondent, % | <0.0001 | |||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 70.3 | 72.3 | 82.3 | 65.4 | 55.5 | |
| Non-Hispanic black | 9.9 | 8.19 | 9.38 | 13.3 | 5.84 | |
| Hispanic | 13.0 | 10.4 | 2.84 | 17.3 | 24.4 | |
| Other race (non-Hispanic) | 6.8 | 7.09 | 5.46 | 3.95 | 14.3 | |
| Sex of primary respondent, % | 0.0802 | |||||
| Male | 29.8 | 24.1 | 31.0 | 30.8 | 31.1 | |
| Female | 70.2 | 75.9 | 69.0 | 69.2 | 68.9 | |
| Age primary respondent | 50.6 ± 0.53 | 51.9 ± 1.1 | 50.9 ± 1.1 | 50.1 ± 0.8 | 49.8 ± 1.1 | 0.4878 |
| Education level primary respondent, % | 0.0670 | |||||
| Less than high school | 26.3 | 21.9 | 29.0 | 29.0 | 20.6 | |
| High school degree/some college | 33.2 | 26.3 | 34.6 | 34.2 | 34.7 | |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 40.5 | 51.8 | 36.4 | 36.9 | 44.7 | |
| Family income to poverty ratio, % | 0.1766 | |||||
| <130 % | 16.9 | 12.2 | 16.2 | 20.5 | 15.7 | |
| 130–349 % | 41.1 | 39.8 | 44.8 | 40.3 | 37.2 | |
| ≥350 % | 42.0 | 48.0 | 39.0 | 39.2 | 47.1 | |
| SNAP participation, % | 12.7 | 10.4 | 12.3 | 14.4 | 12.3 | 0.3720 |
| WIC participation,* % | 27.0 | 24.1 | 24.1 | 28.4 | 30.6 | 0.7711 |
| Food security status, % | 0.0381 | |||||
| Food secure household | 86.0 | 90.4 | 88.9 | 83.1 | 82.5 | |
| Food insecure household | 14.0 | 9.56 | 11.1 | 16.9 | 17.5 | |
| Smoker in HH, % | 29.3 | 24.4 | 31.4 | 32.4 | 24.0 | 0.0151 |
| Anyone obese in HH, % | 45.4 | 37.8 | 49.6 | 46.6 | 42.4 | 0.0737 |
| Self-perceived health status of primary respondent, % | 0.1226 | |||||
| Excellent | 13.1 | 15.5 | 10.2 | 13.2 | 15.8 | |
| Very good | 34.5 | 37.4 | 35.9 | 32.4 | 33.6 | |
| Good | 36.0 | 34.3 | 40.2 | 35.6 | 30.9 | |
| Fair | 13.4 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 14.8 | 16.2 | |
| Poor | 3.02 | 2.27 | 1.95 | 4.10 | 3.48 | |
| HH located in rural census tract, % | 34.6 | 27.3 | 42.0 | 41.2 | 15.6 | 0.0205 |
| Total FAH purchases, kcal | 35615.9 ± 730.5 | 36623 ± 2853 | 34638 ± 1010 | 35108 ± 1094 | 37395 ± 2233 | 0.6792 |
| Total FAH items purchased | 33.1 ± 0.58 | 34.0 ± 1.3 | 32.7 ± 1.0 | 32.6 ± 1.1 | 33.7 ± 1.6 | 0.8172 |
| Perceived healthfulness of diet, % | 0.0089 | |||||
| Excellent | 8.20 | 9.63 | 5.84 | 6.47 | 14.3 | |
| Very good | 29.6 | 33.2 | 28.9 | 28.2 | 30.5 | |
| Good | 42.0 | 40.6 | 45.1 | 42.4 | 37.2 | |
| Fair | 17.0 | 12.5 | 18.5 | 19.0 | 14.6 | |
| Poor | 3.11 | 4.05 | 1.60 | 3.88 | 3.42 |
FAH: food at home; HH: household; SE: standard error; SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; WIC: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. *Of WIC-eligible households (n = 896). All values are means ± SE unless otherwise noted. The p-values were estimated by unadjusted linear regression, treating Healthy Eating Index (HEI) group as an ordinal variable, for continuous variables, and by Pearson’s chi-square for categorical variables. Missing values: race of primary respondent (n = 4), education of primary respondent (n = 3), SNAP participation (n = 1), anyone in HH receives benefits from WIC (n = 3100) smoking (n = 2), perceived healthfulness of diet (n = 2).